Piston-rod packing



(No Model.)

C.-C. JEROME.v 'Piston Rod Packing.

No. 230,133 Patented July 2o, 1880.

MW W

C' I Kl M C Wb f N K WITNEssEs (L) -ATTORNEY N.FETERS.PNDTU-LITHOGRAPHR. WASHINGTON. D. Cy

i i l CHARLES C. JEROME, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PisToNRoe PACKING.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 230,133, dated July20, 1880.

Application filed May 20, 1880. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES C. JEROME, ofChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Piston-Rod Packings; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enableother skilled in the art to whichit pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in piston-rod packings.

Heretoi'ore metallic packin gs have been constructed either incontinuous rings or in two or more separate sections, which latter, whenproperly arranged within the packiiiig-receptacle, formed a continuousmetallic packing around the piston-rod. Both forms of packing have beenfound to be objectionable in use for several reasons, among which may berecited the following: A single continuous packing-ring cannot beapplied without uncoupling the piston-rod, and, as such operationinvolves considerable labor and delay, the con?? projecting ylange, C,formed thereon, upon the Y youter face of which is seated the gland D,the

tinuous ring-packing has met with dist'avor, and l cannot be introduced.Sectional packin g-rin gs'- made up of two or more separate anddetachedsections require considerable time and skill for their properarrangement and application, owA ing tothe fact that the sections mustbeheld upon the rod until the entire set has been arranged in place,and, as is often the case, the sections (one or more) will work out ofplace and drop into the sand or upon the door while being applied, andthereby become covered with gritty and abrasive substances, which, ifnot completely removed, will seriously impair the efficiency anddurability of the packin 0'. Again, in such detached sectional packingrings a through-joint is formed at they adjacent ends or' each section,and hence an additional force is required to retain all such joints in asteamtight condition,

The object of my invention is to provide a metallic packing which shallhavebut asingle through-joint to be packed steam-tight, each ring beingmade in a single piece and adapted to be readily applied and removedwithout uncoupling the piston-rod, the packing-rings to be constructedand arranged in With these ends in view Vmy invention cony sists, first,in a metallic packing-ring formed of two or more connected sections,said sections being formed by partly severing the ring on its innerside, thereby constituting a sectional packing-ring ot' a single pieceof metal having but a single through or open joint, and which may` bereadily applied and secured within the packing cone or receptacle.

My invention further consists in certain features of construction andcombinations of' parts, as will hereinafter be described, and pointedout in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section of astuffing-box and pistonpacking' embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is aview, in perspective, of one of my improved metallic packing-rings.

A represents one head of a steamcylinder, and B the stuffing-box,having' an outwardlylatter being retained in place by means of thestud-bolts E. Within the opening' F in the gland is located apacking-cone, G, which is provided with an outwardly-projecting liangeor collar, H, the'latter being seated within an annular groove, I,formed between the stuflingbox or gland, and by means of which thepacking-cone is retained in place.

In order to provide for lateral play or movement of the packing-cone dueto the uneven wearing of the piston or other cause the groove I is ofgreaterdepth than the width of the iiange or collar H, thereby insuringa space, c, on the outside ofthe collar H for the free lateral movementof the packing-cone- A conical or converging space, J, is formed'-vvithin the packing-cone for the reception of the metallicpacking-rings K, while the outer end of the packing-cone is formed tosnugly it the piston-rod L. A follower, M, is located within thestufling-box, the outer end, b, of follower being made to correspond inform to the rear surface of one of the packing-rings and form a seattherefor, while the opposite IOO end of the follower is provided with aflange, M', which constitutes a seat for the outer end of the spiralspring N, the latter being retained out of contact with the piston-rodby means of the rear projection, N, on the follower'. Theilange M is ofless diameter than the interior of the stuffing-box, to insure anannular steam-passage, c, between the ilange and stu ifing-box, for thepurpose of allowing steam to flow on opposite sides of the flange M andoperate as a cushion to prevent the wedging of the rings or any unduepressure thereon. The opposite end of 'spiral spring N is seated uponthe bushing-ring O.

The metallic packing-rings are formed of any suitable metal, and castwith a single lapjoint, d, the adjacent ends of the ring at the jointbeing formed gradually tapering, as shown, to enable the rings to closearound the piston-rod and preserve their circular form, and thus insurea steam-tight joint. Each ring is provided with an annular flat seat, e,

and beveled seat or portion c on its rear surface, and with a flat seat,f, and beveled seat or surface f on its front side. The outer sur face,g, of the ring .is made slightly tapering from its rear to its frontside, to cause the ring to adapt itself' to the tapering or conicalpacking-receptacle, and be readily forced, when worn, into the outer andcontracted end of said receptacle, while the interior or wearing surfaceh of the ring is made to fit snugly against the piston-rod.

In casting or molding the packing-rings a T-shaped piece of metal isplaced in the mold at the back of the ring, if the ring is to be formedof two connected sections, so that when the ring` is withdrawn from themold the inner portion thereofI will be separated, as at l1,While theouter portion of the ring will be separated from the inner portion bythe elongated slots or openings 'v' v2, thus furnishing an elongatedconnecting-strip, V, between the two sections. It is necessary, toinsure sufficient length to the connecting strip or portion V, to allowthe two portions of the ring to be bent toward and away from each otherwithout danger of breaking the sections apart. It will thus be observedthat the rings may be readily placed upon the pistoihsod and forcedwithin the outer end of the packin g-cone, the operation being performedwithout rendering it necessary to uncouple the piston-rod, and, further,without requiring but a single through or open joint in each ring.

When the packing-rings are secured in place the flat annular seat e onthe rear side of one ring will rest upon the flat annular seat f uponthe front side of the next ring.

This construction of packing-ring insures a positive and uniform feedingmovement to the entire number of packing-rings in the packin g-cone,which result cannot be secured where the rings are made tapering on theouter surfaces, as in the latter case the feeding movement is due to thefrictional contact of the rings, and it is often the case that one ringwill slip and become wedged upon `the next succeeding ring, and thusimpair theeificiency of the packing. The forward ends of the rings arecut off, as at i, so that when the rings are arranged within thepacking-cone several annular grooves, j, will be formed in the rearportion of the metallic packing-surface, within which grooves thelubricating material will accumulate and operate to thoroughly lubricatethe piston-rod.

In piston rod packings constructed and adapted for the employment of thepower of steam to force metallic packing within a converging or conicalpacking-receptacle the follower is made to snugly fit the stuffing-boxand serve as a piston to transmit the power of the steam to the metallicpacking-rings. In devices of such construction a light spiral spring issometimes used simply to retain the packing-rings in place when steam iscut ofi' from the cylinders.

Piston-rod packings constructed as above are faulty in operation, owingto the fact that the pressure on the metal packing-rings is constantlyvarying, as the pressure of steam is sometimes very slight and does notserve to set the rings closely around the piston-rod, while, on thecontrary, the pressure of steam is often so great as to firmly wedge therings around the piston-rod and produce an unnecessary and undue amountof friction thereon.

In my improved device the flange on the rear end of the follower is cutaway to allow the steam which escapes from the cylinder into thestuffing-box to flow on opposite sides of said iiange, and therebypartially counterbalance the pressure thereon, the outer pressureexerted on the follower being equal to the difference between the areasof the front and rear surfaces of said follower. The spiral spring is ofsuch size to maintain a uniform and effective pressure on the follower,causing it to force the packing-rings into the converging space betweenthe piston-rod and packing-cone and maintain a perfect steam-tight jointat all times without subjecting the packing-rings to any undue wear.

It is evident that many slight changes in details in construction andrelative arrangement of parts might be resorted to without departingfrom the spirit of my invention, and hence I do not restrict myself tothe exact construction and arrangement of parts shown and described;but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A metallic packing-ring provided with a single lap-joint, the innerportion of the ring being partly severed at one or more points,substantially as set forth.

2. A metallic packing-ring provided with flat annular bearings on itsopposite sides and formed with a single lap-joint, the inner portion ofthe ring being severed at one or more points, substantially as setforth.

3. A metallic packing-ring having its inner IOO IIO

IIS

legales s or Wearing faces subdivided into two or more the convergingend of the ring cut away to sections, which are connected by an outerporform lubricating-grooves between the adjacent tion of the ring,substantially as set forth. rings, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with a packing-cone In testimony that I claim theforegoing I 15 5 and follower, of a series of metallic packinghavehereunto set my hand this 18th day of rings, each provided with iiatannular seats May, 1880.

on their front and rear sides, substantially as CHARLES C JEROME setforth.

5. The combination, with a packing-cone Witnesses: 1o and follower, of aseries of metallic packing- A. W. BRIGHT,

rings formed with a single lap-joint, and With ALBERT L. LAWRENCE.

